Data Center Basics: Everything You’ve Wanted to Know

The entire world is awash in digital information. But while the information may travel electronically all over the planet, it still must be stored somewhere. That’s where data centers come in.

You’re about to learn all about data centers. From the basic “what is a data center?” to breaking down the data center types and what is in a data center, this is your data center information headquarters.

What is a data center?

A data center is a secure location where computer and network servers store digital information. But that’s just the basic physical description. So much more goes into the wide variety of data centers and what they can do.

Factors that contribute to creating a well-functioning data center include:

Space

The data center’s location plays a massive part in how well it performs its primary jobs. The building must be located in an area that can accommodate the necessary security protocols to keep the facility safe from physical attempts to steal the data it contains. It must also have a raised floor for server cooling systems and overhead access to the servers to install a failsafe.

Novva Data Centers are great examples of the right kind of spaces for data facilities. They’re conveniently located in the western United States. They have a 100-acre campus home to more than 1.5 million square feet of data center space. The buildings were designed and built specifically for housing servers. They have everything needed to keep your data cool, clean, and safe, even if disaster tries to strike.

Cooling and Humidity

Heat and humidity can wreak havoc on hard-working servers. Servers that overheat or short out from an unfortunate moisture pocket can crash. Redundancies will ensure that one server crashing won’t cause a data loss. However, the crash will still put a strain on the system that could temporarily put it at an elevated risk.

Replacing servers can be labor intensive for data center management as well. Maintaining an optimal environment in their data centers should be in their best interest. Top-tier data centers will have the capacity and capability to keep their servers cool and dry. Novva Data Centers excel in this area.

Once again, because Novva knows how to manage data and servers, they planned the cooling and humidity systems with redundancies and fail-safes from the beginning. The high altitude locations of Novva’s data centers help to make data center cooling more efficient than other data centers located at lower elevations.

Electricity

Keeping servers in optimal operating conditions can take a lot of electricity. Power usage, redundancy, and efficiency make all the difference in the effectiveness of a data center. Data Centers should maintain the proper power flow to every server they house.

Power fluctuations can lead to surges and electrical shorts that could damage the servers. Power redundancy means that the consistent power delivery also needs a backup system—not just another line to the main power grid, but an entirely separate source of power, like generators or solar panels. You should use a data center with multiple efficient sources of power. Electricity will be one of the main expenses a data center has. A facility with high power costs will pass those costs on to the clients they serve; efficient power is less expensive power.

Once again, Novva Data Centers shine in all three aspects of the electricity component. They were already designed with redundant power and can accommodate various power consumption needs. They have expertly implemented dual-sourced power. They are also located in areas with relatively low power costs. Plus, the cooling efficiency allowed by the high altitude adds to the energy savings.

Network Connectivity

Data wouldn’t be much good if you couldn’t access it, so network connectivity is necessary. Ensuring internet connectivity usually comes from redundancy. Just like with electricity, your data center should have multiple ways to stay connected to the internet, preferably two entirely different types of internet.

Novva’s Data Centers have top-notch network connectivity with access to four major long-haul fiber routes with the nation’s 6th fastest fiber optic network.

Security

Security is really what a data center is all about—keeping your data safe online and off. Data centers should be locked down facilities with round-the-clock guard presence and surveillance. Not only does Novva have 24/7 human security at their data centers, but they also have robot guard dogs and drones watching at all times.

What is the purpose of a data center?

Data management is essential in the modern business world. Data centers help businesses store and manage their data.

Data management encompasses a wide range of activities, some small and some unlocking the future. Data centers and the data management they facilitate help people share files over email, collaborate on shared virtual desktops, and manage projects and customer relationships. They can also house databases for extensive data operations, like machine learning and even artificial intelligence.

How does a data center work?

Data centers provide a highly secure location to store large amounts of digital information. The information is stored on servers, a specific kind of computer designed for storing and processing data, kind of like a digital library.

There are several different business models for a data center, but generally, businesses lease out space at a data center to handle a processing-intensive task because the data center will have better servers and better security than the company could provide itself.

What are the types of data centers?

Onsite Data Centers

An onsite data center is a data center housed within an individual company. These are usually managed in-house by the company itself. They can provide companies with a lot of control and access to their data, but they are a resource drain and generally much less secure than an offsite data center.

Colocation Data Centers

With colocation data centers, companies rent space from a company that manages a facility designed to house data servers. The companies still own their servers and networking equipment, but the facilities have a better security, power, and cooling setup than the company could afford to create on its own.

Colocation data centers come in two varieties:

Retail Colocation Data Centers

Retail colocation data centers cater to smaller customers. They usually offer additional expertise and management services to small businesses or individuals who need help handling large amounts of data.

Private Wholesale Colocation Data Centers

Private wholesale colocation data centers tend to work with huge enterprises and provide just the facility’s reinforced climate control, connectivity, and security.

Hyperscale Data Centers

Hyperscale data centers are networks of enormous facilities that can host data in multiple locations and sometimes use them to make failsafe backups.

Edge Data Centers

Companies may elect to buy or build their own data center but hire an outside data management company to handle the operations. These are known as edge data centers.

Enterprise Data Centers

When a company invests in its own data facility that they own, operate, and can shape to the needs of its customer base, that’s an enterprise data center.

Cloud Data Centers

Cloud data centers are the top tier of hyper-scale data centers. They have enough storage and connectivity backup to create what is known as “the cloud.” Cloud data centers are run by tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

Novva: Utah’s Largest Hyperscale Data Center

Novva’s hyperscale data centers are built to keep your data cool, secure, and accessible to your team. We’ll work directly with you to ensure we’re delivering the data service your business needs now and into the future. Our data center services can grow with your company.

Contact Novva today to get a quote on your data center needs!